Chimps with Wolves

A couple of weeks back I got an email from my friend and CityDog trainer, Liz, asking if I’d be willing to help her train her Border Collie Rose learn how to herd sheep.

“Hang out with my bestest buddy Rose and a bunch of sheep at the same time? Jack pot! Count me in!” *

* Not my exact words, but it might as well been

So this past Friday I drove out to Belmont where apparently there’s a habitat area to help out. My role was that of a “Corn Gent,” as Liz put it; meaning I’d stand in the middle of a field tossing corn while sheep gathered around me to eat said corn. Nothing fancy, but it allows Liz to concentrate on working her dog instead of worrying about the sheep scattering. Also, it’d give me a chance to watch a Border Collie in action and see training work outside of the Sit/Down/Stay/Come taught in class.

It was quite a fun experience and I look forward to helping out again. Both Liz and Rose are new to sheep herding, only really starting this past Spring, but seem to doing well at it. Both are learning to read and communicate with each other better as well as learning to read the sheep and different scenarios better. Sheep are skittish creatures and things can go from calm to woolly chaos very quickly, so trust between Liz and Rose is also building. It’s also interesting to see positive reinforcement being used to train a BC to herd sheep as traditional methods are mostly used. Good to see you can teach your dog to do even complex tasks such as herding by using R+.

And thanks to the power of the iPhone I was able to capture some photos and a video of the event.

Pics and video after the jump…

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Me watching some dogs interact at RiverDog

To quote Farnsworth from Futurama: Good news everyone!

A brand new doggy daycare, supply store, groomer and training center has opened up in Union Sq. Somerville — RiverDog! It’s a great little place right on Somerville Ave. across from Bull McCabe’s, where my band Ice Cream Social has been known to play many-a-tunes.

Last Saturday was the Grand Opening, but definitely swing by when you have a few minutes to check the venue out and talk to the new owner, Peter. He’s an all-around fun guy and really enjoys what he’s doing.

Puppy & Adult Training. I’ll be one of two trainers for RiverDog; the other being my awesome mentor Melissa McCue. The next puppy class will start on Thursday, August 5th at 7pm — led by me. Basic Adult Class (led by Melissa) starts on Monday August 2nd at 7pm. Therapy Dog Certification and Canine Good Citizen (CGC) will start in September. Classes are $160 for 6 weeks, one class per week.

So, if you’re looking for a class for your new pup or adult dog, get in touch with Peter — 857-998-3343 or riverdog@riverdogdaycare.com.

We just started a couple of new Puppy 1 training sessions last week and this week was the first week when all the puppies came to class. In other words, it was a tad chaotic. Anytime you get five energetic puppies in a room together (especially for the first time), it’s hard to get (and keep) your dog’s focus. They’re way too excited with new friends and play to be bothered to answered to their owner’s calls. And who can blame them? Recall training isn’t until later on in the sessions and, let’s be honest, puppies are more fun than people. I’d probably have trouble answering to someone’s calling, too, if I was knee deep in puppy fun!

But this furry chaos is one of the reasons we let the little guys run around at the beginning of class. Get them to burn off a little excess energy to help them focus during class, as well as socialize the pups with other dogs, teach their owners what’s proper and improper play, and go over dog body language reading skills.

That first week can also be the most distracting for owners and puppies alike. A new environment, new smells, new humans and dogs to meet means your pup would rather go exploring. Consider this a good thing since they’re obviously confident and interested in the world around them, and not fearful of the new environment.

Of course, this can mean stressful training sessions.

In the classes I’m currently helping out with, there’s a Boxer (known for their aloofness) and an Old English Bulldog (stubborn as a.. well, bull). Both dogs started off fine with training at the beginning of class, but quickly became too distracted in class to be bothered to learn “sit” and “down.” They were focused on the other puppies in class and wanted to play, not learn. The owners were clearly getting frustrated and when that happens, training sessions quickly break down. Good news there are some things you (as an owner and/or trainer) can do:

After the jump, how to keep or regain your puppy’s focus.

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I picked up Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D’s book The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs after my mentor recommended it to me with the review of “you’ll look at dogs completely different after reading this.” She was right. This book is phenomenal.

Whereas a lot of dog books talk about how to train our canine companions and give training advice, The Other End of the Leash compares and contrasts how humans and dogs interact with their own species and with each other. As McConnell points out, as humans part of the primate family, we’re so ingrained with certain behaviors that we easily forget that what we find to be socially acceptable isn’t the same in the dog world. McConnell clearly illustrates all the similarities and differences and where we,, as humans go wrong when interacting with our dogs. And she does all this in a reader-friendly way, mixing in anecdotes with scientific research. It’s a fast read and an informative read.

This isn’t a “how to train your dog” book but a “how to understand your dog better” book. She explains how dogs are expert body language readers, why rough primate play can cause trouble when we do it with dogs, how to get your dog to come to you when called, translating “primate speak” to “dog speak” and much more. How many times have we bent down and said, “Come Fluffy. Come Fluffy. Come Fluffy.” only to have Fluffy stare at you awkwardly and unmoving, or repeat “sit” a hundred times, each verbal command getting louder than the last with no results? McConnell explains why and how we can communicate better with our pups.

My favorite section of the book is her chapter on dominance and how social status relates to the behavior of both humans and dogs.  This topic of dominance and being “alpha” definitely wins the Inigo Montoya’s “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means” Award, and trainers and owners a like will benefit from reading the chapter. McConnell explains why dogs prefer a benevolent leader over a status seeking “alpha-wananbe” and why “getting dominant” over your pup can make things worse.

If you really want to understand your dog better — and when we expect our pups to understand English, we should take the time to understand them — pick up The Other End of the Leash. You, and your dog, will be glad you did.

Free come-when-called clinic: January 17th, 1-2pm

For those in the Somerville, MA area (or don’t mind traveling to the city):

City Dog Training in partnership with the City of Somerville will be hosting a free come-when-called clinic at Powder House Park (by Tufts) on Sunday, January 17th from 1-2pm. I’ll be there helping out, so if you’re free come on down and get some free dog training help. Remember, it’s Train Your Dog Month!

Check City Dog Training’s website for weather cancellations.

Note: Staying and coming-when-called are two very important bits of dog training every dog and dog owner should know. Not only does it make the owner’s life a bit easier but it can save the dog’s. So, if you don’t have a strong stay and come-when-called, want to work on it some more or have your dog meet other pups, mark your calendars and come on down

As noted in a previous post, the Associate of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) has named January “Train Your Dog Month.” They’ve set up a nice website with some puppy and dog training tips, including “The Benefits of Training,” “The Importance of Socialization,” and “Teach Your Dog to Play with Toys” as well as different uses for every day commands: sit, down, wait/stay, come when called, and walking without pulling.

Training is very important for dogs. Not only can get you more control over what your dog is doing, but by training and working with your pets you build a connection and trust with your dogs. You learn what to expect from your dog and how they’ll react in certain situations and, at the same time, your dog trusts you that when you give a command they do it.

Positive reinforcement or the traditional method?
One decision you’ll have to make will be what method of dog training you’ll want to use with your pup. The two main theories are the old-school/”Cesar Millan” style training and positive reinforcement. There’s heated debate in the training world of which method is best. I prefer positive reinforcement as it uses classical and operant training which is very simple and easy to use. It’s also, in my opinion, more effective as it teaches your puppy how you want him to act, as well as what not to do. I also find it a bit more humane than the older methods but, as in all things in life, it’s important to make sure you’re educated before making a choice one way or the other. You make the decision on what you think is best for you, your family and your dog, but feel free to contact me and pick my brains on the matter if you wish. Here are some blogs and articles I recently found supporting both sides.

Positive Reinforcement
What is Positive Reinforcement Dog Training?
Dogs: Positive Reinforcement Training
Dismantling Cesar’s House of Dominance

“Cesar Millan”/Traditional method
Traditional Dog Training Methods
Cesar Millan vs. Positive Reinforcement with Treats: Must it be All or Nothing?
Treat Training Creates Aggressive Dogs! Cesar Millan is Right!

After the jump, more useful dog training web sites and articles. Get going on “Train Your Dog Month!”

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As I noted in one of my last posts (Winterizing your dog and avoiding winter hazards), I was dogsitting for a couple of friends over Christmas while they enjoyed their “second wedding” in Brazil. Their dog is Zach, a Lab-Border Collie mix that we like to joke has the intelligence of a Border Collie, but the attention span of a Lab. He’s a great dog who enjoys sitting on the couch, curled up in a big black ball of fur with his monkeys beside him. In fact, that’s mostly all he does.

Good ol’ Zach Dog has only two speeds — sit/sleep and walk. He’ll do anything for food and for a walk, but from all the times I’ve seen him he seemed to have no drive or impulse to play. Rope tug-o-war toys are merely just odd shaped pieces of twine  to him and if you throw a discs and or balls, he stares at you like you’re an idiot for throwing the darn thing in the first place. I even tried getting him to chase me after tossing the ball a few yards away and acting like the ball is the greatest object on earth in hopes to getting Zach to play, but nothing. He just stares at you and maybe yawn, bored by your tireless attempts to get him excited and interesting in the toy.

Never thought I’d see the day when a Lab-Border Collie mix wouldn’t want to go running after something… and yet, there’s Zach. Good ol’ Zach.

I tell you all this so you fully understand how important this most recent Christmas was for Zach… and for me as a trainer-in-training.

Kate, Zach and myself made the few hour trek to upstate-NY where my parents now live. Their part of town is pretty rural. Everyone’s backyards are huge and every other house has some sort of dog running around in the backyard. Pine trees line every yard. It’s like dog heaven and Zach being a city-dog must’ve been in smell bliss the entire weekend.

And me being the sucker for dogs that I am, bought Zach a few Christmas gifts — a new Kong, a bullystick (which he loved thoroughly all weekend) and some Bison Bites. Before one of his walks (and he got plenty of walking every day), Kate made him some treat concoction of Biston Bites smothered in peanut butter with some of his kibble sprinkled on top –  it looked like a canine version of something you’d see on Iron Chef America. After he devoured that we took him for a nice long walk, ending it by jogging around the final block (our attempt to get Zach to stop smelling every blade of grass).

When we got back to our house Zach continued to run around like a madman, actually taking part in a game of chase with me and stopping once in a while to fall in a semi-play bow. This went on for a few more minutes before we took Zach in where he continued to play (that’s right, I said it, play) chase in the house, chasing me up and down the stairs and running from one bed to the next and going into a play bow.

What caused Zach to finally play is a bit of a mystery to me. We couldn’t get him to run around and play chase the next day. Maybe it was the jogging at the end of the walk, Kate’s superdogtreat, all the smells and open space that upstate-NY provides, or some other unknown variable. Mostly likely it had nothing to do with me learning to be a trainer.

But, at least for a few minutes, Zach played.

It was a Christmas miracle.

Last night was graduation night for the Thursday Zen Dog Puppy 1 class. All the puppies did well and their owners should be proud. As for me, it was the first six-week session in which I got to be hands on with the clients and pups. A lot of fun to be able to help coach people and their dogs vs. standing in the background taking notes.

Speaking of January, the Associate of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) has announced January as “Train Your Dog Month“. From their website:

Hundreds of thousands of dogs have been turned into animal shelters because their owners didn’t know how to deal with behavior problems and couldn’t find a reliable resource to help them.  We, at the APDT, think it is long overdue to dedicate a month where we can bring awareness to the importance of socialization and training, and most of all, to inform the public that training your dog can be simple and fun! The APDT has selected January as the perfect month because, as we all know, so many dogs and puppies are adopted and brought home during the winter holidays. Our desire is to help these new pet parents start off the new year with their newest family member in the best way possible.The APDT is planning a variety of events in January 2010 to celebrate National Train Your Dog Month. It is our hope that the everyday dog owners will visit our Web site, so that they can see how easy and fun training can be, and how patience, consistency and a deeper understanding of their dog’s behavior can lead to happier, healthier and harmonious households.  We have a wide range of topics that we’ve covered so that pet owners will recognize themselves & their dogs.  We have provided a great deal of information that will help using methods that are kind gentle and that have an emphasis on building your relationships with your dogs.

In addition the APDT has more than 5000 members who are willing and able to help dog owners who need help with their dogs.  If there is one thing that current television shows about dog training have taught the public its that there are solutions to help dogs with behavior problems and there are alternatives to try before giving up your dog.

Our web site content will include contests winners from our membership, downloadable handouts on training, and regular updates on Facebook and Twitter with fun ideas and tips on how to train your dog. APDT members nationwide will help promote the  event and focus on bringing awareness to their own home towns.

Please join the APDT in celebrating National Train Your Dog Month!

The APDT and TrainYourDogMonth.com have more information on dog training, including some helpful handouts and ways for you to spread the word on dog training. There are also plenty of trainers and training groups out there that can help you out. Be it a young pup or a senior dog, training is a great way to understand your dog better, bond with him or her, and learn basic obedience or learn a new doggy game (and there are plenty). Zen Dog Training has a few new puppy and adult classes starting in January and City Dog Training has a lot of classes available, including some fun doggy-game classes. Check both out and celebrate “Train Your Dog Month”!

This weekend has been full of puppy-fun. Two full days of playing with Beatrix (see pic to left & previous post) and doing some training with her. I’m not sure if she’s very smart or I’m just that good (OK, I’m putting money on the dog in this one), but she was able to pick up the hand signal for “sit” in about 5-10 minutes of work and will still understand the hand signal if someone else gives it to her (a bit of a surprise since dogs don’t generalize well) and will go from a “down” up to a “sit” (which can also be difficult for some dogs to learn). Smart bulldog. She’ll be great with her owners once she’s enrolled in a training class.

Later on, I spent the night watching Animal Planet’s SuperFetch and Dogs 101. I particularly got a kick out of Zak George teaching a border collie to herd kids (don’t people usually not want this to happen? ), but the Dogs 101 episode was all about puppies: The first four weeks, Picking a puppy, Puppy training and Puppy transformation. It was a great episode and a nice crash course for anyone thinking about getting a puppy from a breeder or rescuing one from a shelter. Check it out if a lil’ canine is in your future.

Video: Dogs 101: “Puppy 101″